TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Thursday arrested a former member of a bosozoku motorcycle gang believed to be behind multiple fraud scams involving fake pregnancy accusations, reports TV Asahi (June 11).
Police took Daiki Hayashi, a 20-year-old former member of Uchikoshi Specter, and two other suspects into custody for defrauding a 66-year-old woman out of two million yen.
One of the suspects telephoned the woman while posing as her son. He indicated to her that he needed money to pay compensation for getting a married woman pregnant.
Hayashi has reportedly denied the allegations.
According to police, the suspects used a register of names from 200 high school and college alumni associations in targeting victims. The suspects are believed to have incurred damage totaling more than 100 million yen.
In 2013, the National Police Agency began classifying bosozoku gangs as “pseudo-yakuza” groups to better reflect the true state of their activities. Among those receiving the designation was Uchikoshi Specter, which was formed in the 1970s in Hachioji City.